The state of New Mexico sued the US department of justice (DOJ) on Wednesday for access to unredacted files on Jeffrey Epstein, alleging the federal agency was stonewalling the state’s investigation into the late sex offender by refusing to provide the documents.
The lawsuit escalates a politically charged dispute over the US agency’s Epstein files, an issue that has dogged the Trump administration. The state investigation could have international consequences if it can identify and prosecute figures alleged to have sexually abused girls and women at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch.
The Democratic-run state reopened its Epstein investigation in February and requested unredacted US DOJ files to identify visitors and staff at Zorro Ranch who allegedly took part in crimes, or witnessed them.
The DOJ has said it provided some files but was prevented from supplying other material due to privacy protections.
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“Federal inaction does not merely stall the investigation; it prolongs and compounds the suffering of survivors,” the New Mexico lawsuit argued, requesting that the US district court for the District of Columbia compel US acting attorney general Todd Blanche to release the requested files.
In response to the lawsuit, the department said that under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and protective court orders, it was neither required nor permitted to disclose victim-identifying information.
[ Another key Epstein associate takes crucial answers to the graveOpens in new window ]
“New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Over five months into the state investigation, New Mexico attorney Raul Torrez has yet to announce any results.
In a call with reporters, Torrez said the state was devoting a “substantial” amount of resources to the investigation, but declined to give further information.
“We haven’t charged someone because we need to see those files before we charge someone,” Torrez said.
New Mexico authorities claim that the department reneged on a 2019 deal under which the state agreed to halt its Epstein investigation and hand over evidence to the federal agency in return for continued information sharing on alleged survivors and crimes.
Torrez said in March that the state investigation faced considerable obstacles, including the decades lapsed since Epstein’s alleged crimes, the disappearance of evidence after the ranch was sold in 2023 and possible jurisdictional issues surrounding any potential prosecutions. – Reuters
